Lavalleja, Juan Antonio

CountryUruguay

Town:Minas

Year of creation:1902

Rider(s):Lavalleja, Juan Antonio

(1784 –1853) led the group called “Thirty-Three Orientals” during Uruguay’s Declaration of Independence from Brazil in 1825. Lavalleja sought the presidency as a rival to Fructuoso Rivera in 1830. The latter won. In protest to his loss, Lavalleja staged revolts. He was part of a triumvirate chosen in 1852 to govern Uruguay, but died shortly after his accession to power. Lavalleja is remembered as a rebel who led the fight against Brazil. But as one of the major figures in early, post-independence Uruguayan history he is identified as a skilled but reactionary warrior who contributed to the culture of intermittent civil war which dogged Uruguay for much of the 19th century.